BREAKING!!! Bhupendra Bhandari, the technology advisor for the Ministry of Communication, Information, and Technology (MoCIT), appointed as the new Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) chairman has assumed office. Bhandari chaired the role on Tuesday (February 20, 2024) after taking the oath of office and secrecy in the presence of the Minister of Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma. The cabinet meeting on Sunday, February 18, 2024, had selected him to reign in to head the telecom authority on the recommendation of the committee led by the MoCIT secretary.
With this, Bhandari has now replaced the former NTA chairman Purushottam Khanal who resigned from the post on January 09, 2024, over TERAMOCS and MDMS controversies. So, till now, Nabaraj Adhikari, an NTA board member has been serving as the acting chairman. Then on January 28, MoCIT announced a vacancy to fulfill the vacant post of the NTA chairman.
Initially, the ministry had received 25 applications to head the authority. The MoCIT usually selects the NTA chairman from among three top candidates. Bhandari, who remained a top favorite battled it out at last. He was serving as the technology advisor to the Communication minister Rekha Sharma. He is also a chartered accountant by profession.
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About the newly-appointed NTA Chairman Bhupendra Bhandari in summary
Before landing his new job as the NTA chairman, Bhupendra Bhandari served at various institutions at the top level. He has experience in fintech and telecom in a career that spans decades. To illustrate, Bhandari served at Smart Mobile in Burundi as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) between 2008 and 2015. Similarly, he served as the CEO of Intergroup Telecom in Sierra Leone from 2015 to 2016.
In Nepal, he held the position of the Chairman of Pay Nepal Pvt. Ltd, a company that owns and operates the innovative Moru Digital Wallet. The tenure at the company ran till June 2023. Afterwards, he became an ICT advisor for MoCIT.
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Bhandari says that he will contribute to making communication accessible to all. He said that he aspires to work to bring communication within everyone’s reach and proceed accordingly. “I will move forward according to my plan. I will work to solve the problems and make telecommunications accessible to everyone,” Bhandari said.
Bhandari will lead NTA as its chairman for the next five years. His tenure will have an uphill task of finding solutions to many challenges telecom companies are facing in Nepal. Additionally, he will also have to deal with the intricacies involving the implementation of TERAMOCS and MDMS. He will also have to deal with the lack of a third competitive telecom operator in Nepal and need to promote a conducive environment for the one.
Update: *Apology is extended for the error in which two candidates were specified as “recommended” for the chairman’s post.
Nepalitelecom.com extends its heartiest congratulations to Bhupendra Bhandari on being appointed the new NTA chairman and believes that his expertise and guidance will unlock a new phase for the telecommunication industry of Nepal.
